It is also worth mentioning that the new 'study' which inspired the latest wave of media hysteria (the funniest headline being The Scotsman's 'Smoking ban slashes heart attacks by up to a third across world') was not a new study, but a meta-analysis (a study of studies). It was co-authored by Stanton Glantz, founder of Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, director of TobaccoScam, director of SmokeFree Movies etc.

It is remarkable how few key people are responsible for so many theories, studies, facts and figures in the world of anti-smoking research (and how many of them started out as anti-smoking activists). Glantz has built up the heart miracle hypothesis almost single-handedly. His input so far has included:

About Me

Writer and researcher at the Institute of Economic Affairs. Blogging in a personal capacity.
Author of Selfishness, Greed and Capitalism (2015), The Art of Suppression (2011), The Spirit Level Delusion (2010) and Velvet Glove, Iron Fist (2009).

Elsewhere

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."